The Next Generation
by Raziel94
Summary: Team 7 and their comrads are all adults and are soon to be paired with their gennin teams. Pairings: NaruHina, ShikaTema, ItachSaku, OCOC
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

It had been ten years since Sasuke had killed his brother and returned to Konoha. Upon arrival, he had been detained and sentenced to execution. Luckily for him, the Akatsuki had other plans for him. They had struck within the week, laying waste to the proud village just to recruit Sasuke as a replacement for Itachi. The village was in chaos and the Uchiha managed to escape and fought along side his old team mates. The Akatsuki was defeated and fled, with only Pein, Konan, Kisame and Tobi being the survivors. Sasuke, having finally shown his loyalty to the village by defending it and killing at least one Akatsuki (Itachi), was pardoned and accepted back into the ranks of Konoha.

Now, ten years onward, Konohagakure had finally reverted to its normal state and had grown even more powerful than before. The Konoha Twelve, with the exception of Team Gai, were all 24 years old and powerful jonins.

Team 7 were referred to as the next generation of the Legendary Sannin, with Naruto being piped as the next Hokage, Sakura now as the Head of Medicine and Konoha Hospitals and Sasuke as Head of the Police Force. Team 8, team 10 and team Gai had broken up with everyone going their own way. Shikamaru had achieved jonin status and was now head of the strategist team of Konoha while happily married to Temari. Ino had taken over her father's florist business and Chouji was also jonin. Hinata was heiress and leader of the Hyuuga clan, Shino was an Anbu and Kiba was a jonin who occasionally taught at the academy. Neji, as everyone except for Naruto had predicted, was Anbu captain and Ten Ten took up a teaching position at the academy. Lee, now known as the Green Beast of Konoha, became a solo mission specialist and was known throughout the shinobi world for his incredible speed and amazing taijutsu skills.

With the past as history, most people had already moved on and the next generation of talent was ready to emerge.

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"Come on Ryu! Hurry up or we'll be late!"

Ryu looked at his younger brother and gave a small smile.

"What's the hurry Hitori? School doesn't start for another 20 minutes." He said as he strapped on his weapons holster around his left thigh.

A young, pretty pink haired woman walked over and gave both of them a hug before saying in an amused tone, "Maybe that would be because he wants to get there early. Or have you forgotten that you will be assigned teams today?"

Ryu gave a start as his eyes widened in realization. "Oh right!" he exclaimed. "I totally forgot Mom." He slipped on his black sandals and turned towards his younger brother. "Come on! What are you waiting for? Let's go!" And with that, he took off towards the Konoha Shinobi Academy with Hitori hot on his heels.

Sakura shook her head and chuckled as she got ready to go to work.

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The brothers managed to get to the academy 5 minutes before classes were due to start and went to join their friends.

"Hey guys, you're pretty early today," said a boy with white, spiky hair. "I would have thought that you wouldn't remember what day it is today."

Ryu laughed as Hitori aimed to punch him on the arm.

"Ah… I guess I was right then," the boy grinned and turned towards the front of the classroom as Iruka walked in.

"I take it that everyone is here already, so let's get started." The chunnin waved the team papers in front of the class teasingly before he started reading the teams out "Team 1: Akira Yura, Itoku Chote, Wakobi Raito. Team 2…" Ryu held his breath as he waited to hear his and his friend's names.

"Team 7: Kitaro Hatake, Ryu Tazumi, Shikato Nara. Team 8: Hitori Tazumi, Koteshi Sarutobi, Fuji Wakumi"

Ryu knew that Hitori was disappointed that they weren't in the same team but he turned and gave him an encouraging smile, knowing fully well that he was quite happy to be with his friends. Hearing Iruka speaking again, he turned his attention back to the chunnin.

"You will meet you senseis at the training grounds tomorrow at 8 pm. Don't be late! Class dismissed."

Ryu turned to face the boy sitting behind him.

"Looks like we'll se stuck with each other then Kitaro." His eyes sparkled with amusement as they turned to look at Shikato. "Just make sure you're not late Shikato, you lazy bum!"

Kitaro smiled as Shikato muttered under his breath, "How troublesome

Team 7

The three genin arrived at training ground 7 on time and they waited with anticipation for their sensei.

After half an hour, the three of them started to grow impatient, even the usually lazy Shikato.

"Where is he? Or is he either one of your dads?" Ryu growled.

"No, my dad said that he wasn't allowed to teach our team because that's the system apparently."

The three of them gave a start as a low chuckle emitted behind them. There heads whipped around but they couldn't see anyone. Kitaro's hand went to his shuriken holster instinctively and his hand curled around a kunai. He looked at the others and saw that they were just looking around dumbly.

His eyes widened as a barrage of kunais were flung straight at them. He threw himself sideways and retaliated by flinging one towards the shady figure leaning against the tree. Kitaro couldn't see who it was because of the shadows but he didn't care. He slid over to where the other two were standing and the three of them took up a defensive stance.

Shikato did some hand seals and clasped his hands together. Immediately, his shadow stretched forward at an alarming speed towards the shadows of the tree where the assailant was hiding. Their attacker leapt straight upwards and did a double flip. The three genin were momentarily blinded as the figure was in the line of the sun. As the man dropped back onto the ground, his katana stabbed straight into the earth and they could see that it was charged with electricity. Suddenly, the ground erupted as electricity shot up from the ground.

Ryu, Shikato and Kitaro dropped to the ground as their legs grew numb and they were paralysed. However, as Kitaro hit the ground, he was replaced by a log. The mystery shinobi smirked and leapt gracefully onto one of the three wooden poles. He pulled out more chakra and transferred it to the katana. Soon, the whole training ground was electrocuted and the ground exploded, sending the underground genin flying through the air before skidding till he was next to his teammates.

Ryu got to his feet shakily as he slipped his right hand into his weapon holster. Feeling the familiar feeling of cool metal of the brass knuckles on each of his fingers, he channelled all of his chakra into his right fist. With a roar, he charged straight at his enemy. His opponent did not react or turn to face him even though his back was towards Ryu. At the last second, Ryu leapt up into the air before slamming his fist onto the shinobi's back. Shockwave ripples ran through the jonin's body before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Shikato appeared beside him. "Kage bunshin," he said and looked frantically for both his sensei and his opponent. "Where is our sensei?" The three genin were starting to panic. There was no way they could be a chunnin, least of all a jonin! Besides, they were already running low on chakra and were out of breath.

The ninja appeared in front of them and sheathed his katana.

"A good shinobi is always alert, no matter what the circumstances are. I'm sure they taught you that in the academy."

Looking up, the genin could see that this was none other than the infamous Sasuke Uchiha.

He continued, "I have been waiting in the shadows since the three of you arrived but none of you sensed me. I'm afraid you're not fit to be genin, you have failed my test and will be sent back to the academy."

"You're our sensei?"

The stoic Uchiha turned to look at the boy who had just questioned him. The boy had spiky, jet black hair that looked like a flame and which seemed to defy gravity. His left eye was milky white with a tinge of grey but his other eye was black. He was wearing a red T-shirt with the Anbu sign on it and his forehead protector was tied around his right arm. He had a wrist band with the Konoha symbol engraved on the metal on it on each hand and was wearing a pair of blackish-blue pants. He had a weapons holster strapped around his left thigh, bandages just above his ankle and had on a pair of black sandals.

"So this is Sakura's kid," thought Sasuke. "Yes I am, Tazumi," he replied.

"I know you. You're my mom's ex teammate, aren't you?" Ryu said. "And you're Kitaro's dad's student and Shikato's dad's comrade. You're one of the Legendary Sannin!"

The Uchiha heir ignored him as he turned towards the remaining members of the team. Looking at Kitaro, he grunted mentally as he noticed the resemblance between him and Kakashi. He turned his gaze on Shikato, who was still eyeing him cautiously, and spoke in a clipped tone. "You're Shikamaru and Temari's son, aren't you?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to Ryu. His expression was hard to read but Ryu swore that he could see confusion flash through his eyes before they were suppressed.

"You are dismissed. Do not bother coming here anymore. You should go back to the academy now." And with that, the Head of the Konoha Police Force started to walk away.

Team 8

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"No!!"

Sasuke visibly stiffened at the noise. He raised a hand and brushed it through his raven bangs.

"I'm not going back to that place. My objective is to become a genin today and I'm prepared to fight for it!"

Sasuke recognized that as the outspoken voice of Ryu Tazumi. He lowered his head and made no attempt to show that he had heard.

Ryu's grip on his brass knuckles tightened and a blue aura surrounded his right fist as the chakra channelled through it.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Turn and face me like a man! I don't care whether you are one of the Sannin! I'm taking you on!"

Kitaro pulled out his kunai while Shikato did the same.

"You know what? I think Ryu's right," Kitaro said.

The three of them shot forward at an alarming pace. Ryu punched the ground, using the Sakura's signature movement to trip up his sensei just as Kitaro aimed a swipe at the Uchiha's legs. However Sasuke used his right hand to press onto the ground as he pivoted around and kneed Kitaro in the gut, causing him to double over. Shikato saw the opening and performed the hand seals.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu, Ten Fold!" Shikato cried as he slapped his palms onto the ground. His shadow moved over to his fingers and split into ten, one under each of his fingers. The shadows moved forward, stretching themselves as thin as possible in order to reach their target.

With a grunt, Sasuke flipped backwards and skidded across the dirt with one hand on the hilt of his katana and the other on the ground, steadying himself. He turned as Ryu appeared as a red blur behind him. With a cry, Ryu buried his chakra infused fist and brass knuckles into the Uchiha's face.

The elder shinobi skidded across the ground on his side before hitting the wooden poles. He picked himself up and dusted his clothes. The three genin could see that their sensei was very tense by the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists and the way his eyebrows furrowed gently, allowing the Uchiha to plaster a scowl on his face.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Uchiha smirked.

"Hn. Not bad genin. You pass."

The three students looked at their sensei blankly. "What?" They cried out in unison.

Sasuke rubbed his temples. "I said you pass." He strolled towards his students and stopped in front of them. "A shinobi's ultimate purpose is to complete the mission no matter what the cost. Your missions were to pass the test and become genin and that was exactly what you did." He offered them a wry smile. "I never expected you to sense me. After all, I'm an elite jonin. That was all just an act to test whether you have the guts to challenge me and fight for your goals." He turned around again before continuing. "Same time, same place tomorrow. You're dismissed."

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"Welcome to Team Naruto then!" The hyperactive blond grinned as he gave his team the thumbs up.

"I knew that we would pass!" Fuji said as she high-fived her teammates.

Naruto folded his arms. "Why don't you three introduce yourselves over some ramen? My treat!"

The three of them grinned. "Why not?"

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Team Naruto trooped into Ichiraku's Ramen Stand and sat down.

"Four extra large miso pork ramen, old man!"

The students stared at Naruto, who seemed oblivious to them. Naruto turned and laughed.

"I hope you're hungry, because I am! So, why don't you start with the introductions?" He said as he pointed at Koteshi.

Koteshi adjusted his forehead protector and cleared his throat.

"I'm Koteshi Sarutobi, son of Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi. My grandfather was the Third Hokage. One day, I hope to be able to become an outstanding jonin and defend this village!"

Hitori grinned impishly at his sensei before starting.

"My name is Hitori Tazumi. My mother is Sakura Haruno and I have an older brother, Ryu Tazumi. I hope to be able to surpass him in the ninja arts and become and elite!"

Naruto turned to the remaining member.

"Ah… I'm Fuji Wakumi. I'm from the Wakumi clan. I hope to be able to be stronger and defeat many enemies. Yeah…that's about it."

The four of them started to eat as the bowls of delicious, steaming ramen were placed in front of them. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Bonds

Ryu and Hitori both collapsed onto the sofa as soon as they set foot into their house.

Sakura came out of the kitchen.

"Tough day, huh? Why don't you two go take a shower before coming back down for dinner?" She said.

Hitori got up slowly and shuffled upstairs. Ryu looked at his mother before deliberately saying thoughtfully, "You know mom, my sensei is Sasuke and Hitori's is Naruto."

Sakura tensed at the mention of Sasuke but quickly soothed herself.

"Well then, you two are bound to be good shinobi in the future then." She smiled and made her way back into the kitchen. At that moment, a soft knock could be heard. Ryu went and opened the door to see his sensei standing in the pouring rain.

"Sasuke sensei? What are you doing here?"

The Uchiha uttered his infamous monosyllable as he entered his teammate's house.

Sakura popped her head out at the sound of Sasuke's name being mentioned.

The elder shinobi turned and smirked.

"Sakura, it's been a while." He walked forward before continuing in a more gentle tone. "We need to talk."

Stepping forward, he shut the kitchen door before saying in a clipped tone. "Sakura, who is Ryu's father?"

A flash of guilt, pain and sadness flashed across Sakura's face which would have been impossible for people to tell. However, Sasuke had known Sakura for 16 years and recognized the confusion that was apparent on her face.

Head bowed, Sakura said in whispered tones. "He was a great man, Sasuke. He chose his path and acted on his instincts. Even if it may seem wrong on the surface, I understand his motives and so does he." She looked up at Sasuke with tearful eyes. "He was a great man, Sasuke," she repeated. "He was a great man."

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke leaned forward and held Sakura close to his chest as hot tears slid slowly down her cheeks.

Gingerly, he asked, "Am I that man, Sakura?"

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The young man of 24 put down the photo frame containing a picture of Team Sasuke. Sasuke had his arms folded as he smirked at his three students in the photo. Kitaro and Ryu were scuffling on the ground while Shikato was watching them with a bored expression on his face. The man smiled fondly as he recalled the memory he just had. The genin days were the best days of his life. Nowadays, Konoha was always engaged in wars with either the Akatsuki or with other nations.

The shinobi stepped out onto his balcony before leaping against the outside wall of the building. Building up chakra on the bottom of his feet, he walked effortlessly upwards to the roof. He sat on the edge with his feet dangling off the edge, allowing the gentle breeze to ruffle his soft hair. The ninja stared at the full moon as he reminisced. Slowly and gently, he lifted his hand and touched his left cheek. Tracing the scissor shaped scar crossing just below his blind eye, he grimaced as he remembered how the rain genin had caught him off guard during the last rounds of the chunnin exam.

Someone dropped beside him but the man did not move. Instead, he propped his right leg on the ledge and tucked it under his chin. He then whispered, "Sensei."

The man's sensei slipped into the shadows and said slowly, "Ryu, are you sure you want that promotion?"

Ryu looked over Konoha as the moonlight threw shadows over his scarred face. His face was unreadable and he said in a flat tone, "Yes, being chosen to be Neji sempai's successor is a great honour. Besides, I would like to challenge myself."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Then, the Hokage requests your presence now. I hope you're up for your mission."

Ryu allowed a small smile to creep across his face. Even though most people thought that Sasuke was a heartless bastard, Ryu knew better. Sasuke was just misunderstood by most people. Having witnessed his clan's slaughter by his older brother at the tender age of ten, Sasuke was withdrawn and emotionless. Having finally killed Itachi and returning to Konoha, he was even more detached and cold towards everyone. Having a genin team had helped Sasuke get in touch with his more human side and Ryu knew that Sasuke was not cold, but it was because he did not know how to express his feelings.

He slowly stood up and turned to face his sensei. Without a word, both shinobi leapt across the rooftops. The wind whipped across their faces as they bounded towards the Hokage's tower. Ryu glanced at the Uchiha and smiled. The human ice cube was like the father he never had and he had the highest respect for him. Even though Sasuke was 12 years older than him, they both shared a bond which no one but them could understand it, and they were happy with the way things were.

Top of Form 1

Bottom of Form 1

Missions and Failures

Sasuke stepped forward and rapped smartly on the Hokage's door.

"Come in."

Turning the doorknob, both shinobi entered the office.

"You called, Hokage-sama," Ryu said as he stood in front of the Hokage. Out of the corner of his eye, Ryu could see that Sasuke was leaning casually against the wall, scrutinizing them intensely.

"Ah, Captain Ryu, just the man I need. You've been promoted to Anbu captain recently, am I right?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Perfect. I need you to find a partner and investigate whether the rumours of Akatsuki appearing at the borders are true or not. Who do you want to join you?" Tsunade looked questioningly at the shinobi.

Ryu smiled and replied, "Sasuke sensei."

The Uchiha heir's eyes widened for a second before he composed himself. Pushing himself off the wall, he nodded once at the Hokage before exiting.

Tsunade continued, "Good. You will be leaving tonight. Report back here in two days time."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." With that, the Anbu captain turned around and disappeared.

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The two ninjas met at the gates. Without saying a word, they took off.

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Having reached the border in half a day's time, Ryu and Sasuke stopped for a rest.

"No traces of anyone so far, least of all Akatsuki." Ryu slumped down against the tree trunk and grabbed two rice balls from his pack. Handing one to Sasuke, he started to eat.

Sasuke looked curiously at his student.

"Ryu, we've known each other for some time, yet I don't even know why your left eye is like this."

Ryu gaped at Sasuke. Swallowing his mouthful, he laughed and said, "Some time is pretty much an understatement, don't you think? I mean, twelve years is a long time. Well, I was born like this. My left eye was always blind."

Sasuke suddenly tensed as he sensed someone's presence above them. Looking up, he saw

"Kisame," Sasuke ground out.

The Mist missing ninja landed gracefully in front of them. Lifting his Samehada, he brought it onto the ground with all his might. The two leaf jonin split up with Sasuke flanking the right and Ryu on the left. Sasuke ran forward as Ryu started performing the hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu!"

A giant fireball forced its way through the forest, consuming everything in its path. Sasuke dove underground as the fireball made its way towards Kisame. He reappeared just as Kisame neutralised the ball with his water dragon jutsu. Shooting upwards, his chakra infused fist met Kisame's gut, forcing the Akatsuki member to double up.

Ryu slipped his hand into his holster before he felt a sharp stab at the base of his neck and everything went black.

Sasuke turned to glance at his partner just to see him pitch forward to reveal another Akatsuki behind him.

The Akatsuki waved at him.

"Hi! I'm Tobi," he said cheerfully.

Sasuke looked at Kisame before snarling, "What the hell do you want?"

Kisame chuckled, showing all his pointed teeth.

"Our goal is to kill you Sasuke, that's all." At that, the three ninja resumed their fight.

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Ryu groaned as he felt the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. He slowly pushed himself up and saw Sasuke holding the Samehada's blade. He could see that Sasuke was growing weaker as the sword sucked his chakra. Standing up, he started as he saw another Akatsuki coming in for the killing blow. With Sasuke occupied, Ryu knew that if he didn't act, his sensei was dead.

Launching himself forward, he deflected the blow with his kunai. The man in the orange mask was surprised to see him.

"Hey! What happened?"

"You're my opponent now!" Ryu shouted as they traded blows. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Ryu could see every move that his enemy was going to make.

"What's going on? This is weird." Ryu thought.

Tobi suddenly stopped and stepped backwards.

"Change of plans, Kisame. Let's go."

The Akatsuki disappeared in puffs of smoke and left the Konoha shinobi feeling even more confused than ever.

The Uchiha heir walked over to his partner. He placed a hand on his shoulder as he said, "How did you manage to keep up with Tobi? He's pretty fast for someone without the Sharingan."

Ryu turned to look at Sasuke just to see him take a step backwards. His face was paler than usual and shock was registered on his face.

"Your eyes…the Sharingan."

Crimson eyes met crimson eyes as the shinobi faced each other.

"No way! You can't be an Uchiha!"

Ryu's mouth felt dry. "I…don't know what's going on."

Sasuke did not respond. He seemed to be in a trance. Without looking back, he leapt across the tree tops towards Konoha, leaving Ryu staring at his back.

Akatsuki Strikes – Sasuke Falls (Part 1)  
Or  
Father of Mine

Ryu trudged into the Hokage's room. He was confused with Sasuke's reaction. Sasuke almost seemed to fear him, and nothing ever scared his sensei.

"Hokage-sama. The rumours were indeed true. We met two Akatsuki members and engaged them in battle."

Tsunade rubbed her temples. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Thank you Ryu. Anything else?"

Ryu decided not to tell her about the Sharingan and shook his head.

Tsunade shook her head in annoyance.

"Sasuke hasn't come round; I hope you two haven't had an argument or something."

Ryu looked away in embarrassment. Luckily, the Hokage was too busy contemplating to notice.

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Sasuke slipped into Konoha hospital and padded down the corridor to Sakura's office. Without knocking, he flung open the door. Sakura looked up quickly, eyebrows furrowed with annoyance. Her annoyance turned into surprise as she recognized the intruder.

"Sasuke?! What are you doing here?"

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Kisame dropped his sword onto the floor and turned towards Tobi.

"So, what happened back there?" He asked his partner.

The other man removed his orange mask, revealing his crimson eyes.

"That kid, Ryu, had the Sharingan. I know for a fact that that is the Hokage's apprentice's son." Tobi looked grimly at Kisame.

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"Sasuke?! What are you doing here?"

Sasuke did not answer, but instead walked forward numbly. Placing his hands gently on her desk, he said in a husky tone, "You know, that great man in your life? I presume that I am not him, right?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke sympathetically.

"No Sasuke."

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"And I know for a fact that Sasuke is no the father," continued Tobi, "which means that the father is…"

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"Itachi Uchiha," whispered Sasuke.

Sakura inhaled sharply before replying.

"What?"

Sasuke was trembling as his brain processed the information. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"That man is Itachi, isn't he?"

Sakura was shivering as well and she didn't answer. The Uchiha heir turned and left without a word.

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Sakura saw her son brooding as soon as she entered the house.

Ryu looked at her with haunted eyes.

"Mom, who was my father? I need to know."

When Sakura hesitated, Ryu grew angry.

"Mom! Tell me! Please, I need to know!"

In his rage, Ryu's eyes changed slowly from black to crimson. The Sharingan flashed dangerously. Sakura's eyes widened.

"The Sharingan! How…what? Why does your left eye also have the Sharingan?"

Ryu stepped backwards and tried to calm down. Gradually, his eyes returned back to normal.

"Mom…" he pleaded.

Sakura looked guiltily at her elder son.

"I'm sorry that I never told you Ryu. Your father was… Itachi Uchiha. He's the older brother of Sasuke."

Ryu's face was expressionless. He said slowly, "The same Itachi Uchiha who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan and joined the Akatsuki?"

Sakura could only nod. She could not trust herself to speak.

A stifled gasp came behind both of them. Turning around, the two saw Hitori standing in the doorway.

"Hitori!" Sakura cried.

But Hitori had long vanished.

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Ever since the incident, Sasuke had not appeared for months. The only person who remained in contact with him was Naruto, Kakashi and Tsunade. He was constantly on missions and never seemed to be in Konoha. The others did not know of Sakura's secret and could not understand what had happened between Team 7 and their sensei. Ryu had also accepted whatever mission he was offered to keep his mind of things.

"Hokage-sama."

The Anbu rose out of the ground in front of the Hokage. Removing his mask, he clipped it onto his belt and waited for Tsunade to offer him another mission.

"Captain Ryu, your missions are very efficiently completed nowadays. However, you seem angrier and more violent than usual. Anything wrong?"

Ryu grimaced. The reason why his missions were extremely successful and completed quickly was because he was taking his anger out on the enemies. He was merciless and violent and had become very withdrawn for the past months.

Shaking his head, he muttered, "No."

Tsunade did not look convinced but dropped the subject, sensing that the topic was causing tension and anxiety for the young captain.  
"I have an important mission which is quite urgent and I need an experienced jonin to take care of it." Tsunade paused before swivelling her chair to face the window. Looking at the Hokage Monument, she said, "You may accept or refuse this mission. This is your choice and will not affect anything." She turned back to face Ryu. Clasping her hands together, she said. "You know that Konoha is facing quite a few enemies at this time, am I correct?" Receiving a curt nod from the shinobi in front of her, Tsunade continued. "According to confidential intelligence, the reason why Konoha is constantly under attack is because there is a leak in the village. I need someone to investigate and eliminate the source." Standing up, she walked over to the window and said, "However, the mission requires the shinobi to leave Konoha for quite a long time. Do you accept?"

"No." Ryu shook his head apologetically. He wasn't sure how much more "surprises" his mother could take and did not want to find out by seemingly following his father's footsteps.

"Very well. I will arrange for someone else to accept it then," Tsunade said.

Don't own Naruto, only Ryu, Hitori, Shikato, Fuji, Kitaro and Koteshi

Akatsuki Strikes – Sasuke Falls (Part 2)

Shikamaru slammed his hands on the table.

"Deploy four units to evacuate the civilians and four at the village borders! I want all Anbu and police forces stationed at every emergency post! This is a state of emergency!"

"Hai!" The shinobi saluted before rushing off to fulfil their duties.

Looking out the window, Shikamaru could see that the Akatsuki was wrecking the village. He cleared his head and headed back to organise the shinobi efforts.

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Ryu ran to the training grounds where Sasuke was fighting Tobi. He hoped that Shikato and Kitaro could hold their own against Kisame before reinforcements could arrive. Most of the shinobi, including Naruto, had targeted the Akatsuki leader and his partner while the rest was helping to evacuate the civilians. Ryu knew that his mom was healing the injured and that Kakashi, Koteshi and Fuji were travelling to help Shikato and Kitaro. However, he had no idea where his younger brother was. Hitori was an exceptional jonin who was only bested by the Legendary Sannin, the Hokage, Kakashi and himself, so he was sure that he could look after himself. But he still felt uncomfortable that he didn't know where Hitori was.

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Sasuke had his Sharingan activated and had seemingly rammed his right hand right through Tobi's heart. However, his hand ended up passing through thin air as the Akatsuki forced his hand through the Uchiha's heart.

Pulling his hand out with a jerk, Tobi watched as Sasuke fell onto the ground on his knees. Blood was trickling slowly out of the corners of his mouth and a bloody hole could be seen where his heart was. Sasuke fell sideways as his breathing become shallower. His vision was blurring and he could feel consciousness slipping away.

Tobi knelt down and held his chin, forcing him to look directly into his crimson orbs.

"You know, that kid is Itachi's. But you have no reason to hate him or his father."

"He killed my clan and joined you scumbags. I have every reason to hate him," Sasuke choked out between coughs of blood.

Tobi sighed. "Itachi was under the elder's orders to eliminate the Uchiha clan as they were planning a coup d'état. To ensure peace and protect his village, Itachi chose to betray his clan rather than his village. He didn't really have much of a choice, did he? He fulfilled his duty but did not have the heart to kill you. He spared your life and misled you into thinking that he did it for his own reasons. By joining Akatsuki, he could work as a spy and by misleading you, he ensured that you could become more powerful."

Tobi stood up and continued. "He even freed you from Orochimaru and his cursed seal by forcing you to use up all your chakra, thus setting Orochimaru free. Now, you even have his Mangenkyou powers. He did all this just to save you. My goal is completed here. I should be going."

Performing the hand seals, he started to disappear and fade away like a genjutsu.

"Remember Itachi Uchiha. He was a great man," he whispered as he vanished.

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Ryu leaped over the training ground gates just to see his sensei's battered and bruised body lying on the ground. He ran over and kneeled beside his mentor. Hot tears poured out of his eyes and blurred his vision as he took in the scene in front of him.

"Oh god… no Sasuke…don't die," he choked out between sobs. Channelling chakra into his hands, he placed them on Sasuke's chest and tried to heal him. After attempting to heal him a few times, he stopped and held onto Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke's eyes were also wet as tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes as he gazed at his student.

Sasuke pulled Ryu closer to him until his mouth was next to Ryu's ear.

"Ryu…you are strong and I am very proud of you. Take my katana as a parting gift. Tell Sakura and Naruto… that I will always be with them. Ryu…you are like the son I never had…and please…forgive me for killing your father…please."

Ryu nodded, his face tearful with tears and blood streaked across his face.

"I never blamed you, Sasuke. You were like the father I never had…"

Sasuke smiled a genuine smile before closing his eyes forever.

"No!!"

Ryu threw back his head and screamed in anguish and his howl of agony echoed through the entire village. Ryu held Sasuke's body against his own and cried bitterly into his shoulder as he rocked back and forth. His body racked with sobs as he cried uncontrollably, his breathing became shallower and he hyperventilated. He could not believe it. His sensei, one of the Legendary Sannin, was dead. In his eyes, Sasuke was invincible. Sasuke was second to none in fighting and was fearless. How could he die? After what seemed like ages, Ryu felt his strength leave him and he allowed sleep to embrace him gratefully.

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Three hours later…

Shikamaru shook his head sadly. He looked at Tsunade and said, "We lost Gai, Lee and Kiba. The others were injured but none were fatal."

Tsunade patted him on the back and said, "Why don't you go home to rest. You can have the week off."

Shikamaru looked at the Hokage gratefully.

"Thanks."

Just as he reached the door, the door swung open and Ryu walked in carrying Sasuke bridal style.

Ryu had Sasuke's katana strapped on his back with a leather strap and his eyes were red and swollen. Swallowing his tears, he choked out, "Sasuke…is dead. He was killed by Tobi."

The other two shinobi were too shocked to speak.

Ryu carried on.

"Hokage-sama. I accept that mission. I will investigate and personally kill the traitor who is helping the Akatsuki and I will kill Tobi. I will avenge Sasuke's death."

Don't own Naruto, only own Ryu, Kitaro, Shikato, Hitori, Fuji and Koteshi

Clash of the Uchiha Brothers (Part 1)

The ground was reduced to nothing but rubble as a certain shinobi strove to become stronger. As the smoke cleared, a dark figure could be seen standing amidst the chaos. Electricity crackled through his body and a bluish aura surrounded him. Dropping onto his left knee, he steadied himself as he tried to catch his breath. His sparring partner was also panting heavily as he ruffled his spiky, white hair. Ryu looked up and smiled at Kitaro.

"That was good. We should do that more often," Ryu commented.

His partner merely nodded as he took up an aggressive stance. With his right leg extended outwards and bent so that his left leg was tense, he slowly performed the hand seals for his father's signature move, the Chidori.

Ryu stumbled to his feet while trying to keep focus. He had just been hit by the same move and had been electrocuted, which was something he did not want repeating again. Drawing Sasuke's katana from his belt, he channelled chakra through it. Focusing hard, he shaped the chakra into a concentrated outline of the katana.

Kitaro sprinted forward. Knowing the Chidori's weakness, Ryu sidestepped it, allowing him a perfect opening for a counterattack. Bringing his blade down, he cut through Kitaro's jonin vest before releasing the chakra on the blade as electricity. However instead of electrocuting his partner, the chakra cut Kitaro's skin just like a wind jutsu.

Kitaro fell and skidded in the dirt as his attack died out. Ryu stuck out his hand and pulled him up. Grinning, he said, "You know you shouldn't use the Chidori without the Sharingan."

Kitaro punched him playfully before the two walked to get lunch.

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As Kitaro slurped down his ramen noodles, Ryu stared at the soup in his bowl. He knew that he had to start his mission soon before the leads disappeared. However, he was still coping with Sasuke's death and wasn't really in much of a mood to start yet. Sighing, he picked up his chopsticks and dug in. He had decided to start once he had perfected his ultimate jutsu.

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(1 week later…)

The full moon light up the sky as night fell over Konoha. The Anbu captain slipped on his red T-shirt with the black Anbu sign on it and picked up his weapons pouch and holster. He reached for his brown belt and slipped it over his shoulder. Tucking Sasuke's katana in it, he leapt onto the roofs.

He had not told anyone about the mission as it was S-ranked and a secret mission. Even Tsunade had no idea about his moves. Neither did she officially authorise and file the mission in case the Akatsuki spy could get hold of it.

The wind swept through his raven hair as he stared at the moon. He could clearly remember that night when Sasuke and he spent the night talking on the roof under the full moon. Clenching his fists, he slipped into the shadows and crept towards the Konoha gates.

As he reached the gates, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Whipping around, he saw no one other than Hitori. Rearing back in shock while silently cursing his own carelessness and allowing someone to detect him, he said, "Hitori! What are you doing here?"

His younger brother stared at him curiously. "I'm on border patrol duty."

Ryu kept his face blank as he said, "Oh, right. I forgot."

"What are you doing here? You don't have a mission according to my record."

Ryu grimaced. This was going to be hard to explain. Ninjas were not supposed to leave the village unless authorised and he had not acquired permission.

Phasing behind Hitori, he tried to strike him at the base of the neck. However, Hitori was no weakling. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Gripping Ryu's hand, he swung his brother around before slamming his knee upwards into Ryu's gut. As Ryu doubled up, Hitori hit him on the neck. As Ryu lay on the ground, his younger brother performed the hand seals and Ryu's eyes widened in recognition. Hitori slammed his palm onto the ground as Ryu tried to scramble to his feet. Unfortunately he was too slow, he was pinned to the ground as rocks erupted from the ground and formed strips. The rocks bound him to the ground, rendering his arms useless.

Hitori squatted over his brother. "Ryu Tazumi, you are under arrest for attempting to leave the village and for attempting to attack a Konoha shinobi." His eyes were filled with contempt and sorrow and Ryu felt guilty for deceiving his brother. However, he had to complete his mission. Looking at Hitori, Ryu whispered, "I'm sorry" before electricity crackled through and around his body, destroying the rocks binding him. His eyes slowly turned red as the black swirls appeared in the pupil. "But I'm an Uchiha."

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As the smoke cleared, Hitori could only watch as his brother disappeared into the trees. Stumbling backwards, Hitori tried to make sense of what just happened. His brother was now a missing-nin who had just tried to attack him. Turning around, he ran to the Hokage's tower to report the incident.

Don't understand Naruto characters. Only Ryu, Kitaro, Shikato, Hitori, Fuji and Koteshi

Clash of the Uchiha Brothers (Part 2)

Hitori squared his shoulders as he stared at the Hokage. Behind him, the door opened and his team mates entered.

Tsunade frowned. How could Ryu be so stupid to allow himself to be discovered? Now, she had no choice but to declare him a missing-nin. She leaned backwards against the back of her chair and she rubbed her temples.

"Hitori, take team 8 and pursue Ryu and bring him back for interrogation. You are dismissed."

"Consider it done, Hokage sama," Hitori turned on his heels as Koteshi and Fuji followed him out of the room

Tsunade glanced out the window worriedly. "I hope you can complete your mission, Ryu," she said softly.

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Ryu shot through the trees, pushing chakra into the soles of his feet as he tried to distance himself from his pursuers. His senses started to tingle as he felt three large chakras behind him. He urged himself onwards as a bad feeling settled into the pits of his stomach.

Arriving at a clearing, he stopped to catch his breath. He had no idea who his pursuers were but he doubted they were pushovers. Usually, jonins or Anbu members were sent after missing-nins, except for the Uchiha incident.

He looked up in alarm as he felt the three chakras descend on him. Throwing himself aside, he looked up. His brain seemed to shut down as he recognised the faces.

Koteshi and Fuji were looking at him with disappointment but his brother was looking at him with disgust. Ryu got up as he got ready to fight.

Koteshi stepped forward. "Ryu Tazumi, surrender or we will be prepared to use force." Ryu could see the betrayal in the young Sarutobi's eyes. He clenched his fists as he tried to play his part of missing ninja.

"I'm an Uchiha, you'll do well to remember that," Ryu snarled as his eyes bled red.

Hitori's eyes were filled with hatred and sadness. "Like father like son. Like sensei like student," Hitori said sadly. "You're just like that traitor, Sasuke."

Ryu felt anger course through his veins as he surveyed his brother.

"No, Sasuke had his reasons for leaving. He made a mistake but he was a great man. Now, get out of my way!" Ryu shouted.

Hitori signalled for his team to attack as he ran forward. Ryu slammed his hands onto the earth as he summoned a pack of wolves. The wolves shot towards Fuji as Ryu ducked just as Koteshi thrust his chakra blades forward. The Anbu captain slipped on his brass knuckles and channelled chakra through them. Aiming a swipe at Koteshi's legs, he punched Koteshi in the face, sending the other flying through the air, landing three feet away from him. A fist slammed into Ryu's face, sending him flying through the air. Ryu flipped backwards before he landed and saw that Hitori had joined the fight. He could see out of the corner of his eyes that Fuji was unconscious and that the wolves were going after the Sarutobi. Pulling out Sasuke's katana, his body erupted with the Chidori. Running forward, he slashed at his brother. Hitori deflected it with his kunai and pushed Ryu back. Performing the necessary hand seals, he shouted "Futon Ryu!" as a dragon formed from Hitori's wind chakra emerged. Ryu stepped backwards before the wind dragon engulfed him.

Hitori watched as his dragon consumed his brother. As the jutsu ended, he could see Ryu lying on the ground. Walking forward, he could see a fresh scar on his face, next to the one gifted by the rain genin. Bending down to pick up the shinobi, he flew backwards as a fist met his stomach. Hitori could hear the crackle and chirps of the Chidori. However, Ryu's jutsu looked different. Ryu had formed the Chidori and started to spin it until it resembled a silver Rasengan. He pushed more chakra into the ball and silver lightning started to randomly appear from the Rasengan.

Ryu was very tired and he was running out of chakra. He only had enough for one more technique. "This is my ultimate jutsu that I've been working on, the one which Kakashi Hatake failed to create. I call it the Chidori Rasengan."

Before Hitori could react, his brother had phased in front of him with the Chidori Rasengan. At the last minute, Ryu slammed the jutsu onto the ground and a massive crater erupted from the ground. Hitori smashed through a tree and against a rock and was knocked unconscious.

Ryu steadied himself as he grimaced. He had not missed the look in his brother's eyes. Fear was what his brother had felt and Ryu felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Did Hitori really believe that Ryu would kill him?

He shook off the feeling before setting off again.

It would be another three hours before team 8 would be found.


	3. Chapter 3

Don't own Naruto, only Ryu, Hitori, Shikato, Fuji, Kitaro and Koteshi

Akatsuki Returns – A Proposition

The ex Konoha shinobi was breathing heavily as he leapt across tree branches. His left leg had burn marks all over it and he was limping badly. Clutching his right arm, he shot through the trees. His right arm was broken and was dangling uselessly while he was bleeding internally with blood leaking from his mouth. The shinobi had been pursued for 6 months by different teams of ninja from different countries. Konoha ninja, Suna ninja, Iwa ninja and even Kiri ninja had gone after him trying to capture him. Some wanted information to invade Konoha but some wanted him to return to Konoha. The ninja's vision was blurring as he started to run out of chakra. His left eye was swollen and bruised and he was having trouble breathing. Stopping on a thick branch, he slammed against the tree and slid downwards to sit and rest.

Breathing heavily, his brows furrowed as he remembered the vow that he had made. His fists clenched as determination gave him the energy to continue onwards. Ryu knew that his pursuers behind him were drawing near. He stopped again on a branch next to a river. Pulling one of his rings from his brass knuckles, he transferred the last of chakra into it before throwing it into the river. He just hoped that his enemies would fall for his trap and follow his chakra signature on the ring instead.

He winced as he felt his ribs crack slightly. He started to slip into unconsciousness as the pain and stress became unbearable. Ryu had not slept for three days in a row trying to avoid everyone and he was still no closer to completing his mission even after 6 months. He allowed the darkness to consume him gratefully as he slipped and fell off the tree branch, plummeting ten feet to the ground.

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Ryu groaned as he came round. He winced as he tried to move. Opening his right eye, he could see that his was in a large cavern with his wounds bandaged. He tried to sit up but found that he could not move his body. Coughs racked his body as he spat out blood. What had happened after he blacked out? Ryu asked himself mentally. A black figure walked through the doorway and Ryu could only turn his head to look.

Kisame chuckled as he saw the look of shock and anger on the younger shinobi's face.

"What do you want with me?" Ryu growled.

Kisame opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by a gloved hand on his shoulder. His partner, who Ryu recognized as Sasuke's killer, answered instead.

"Kisame caught you before you landed on the ground and brought you back. Unfortunately, we think that you've injured your back by hitting it on a branch or something and no one here is a medic nin, so you'll have to take some time to heal."

"Still doesn't explain what you guys want with me."

Tobi laughed. "You're a missing nin and the son of Itachi Uchiha. You've earned your place in this organisation."

"You killed my sensei. What makes you think I'll join?"  
The Akatsuki smiled. "We had no choice. Sasuke killed Itachi, so we repaid him by killing him. You are Itachi's eldest son and I feel that you should know about Itachi's past." He sat down next to Ryu. "Sasuke learnt of it after he had killed your father and he was devastated. However, I feel that you should know about it. It is only right for you to know."

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Tobi left the room as Kisame looked over his shoulder. The Uchiha heir was crying bitterly and hyperventilating. Tobi shook his head. "He'll be fine," he said.

Kisame looked questioningly at the former Mizukage. "Can we trust him?"

The man behind the orange mask grimaced. "No. But we will start the process when he calms down."

Kisame nodded in response.

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Ryu rubbed his face as he absorbed the newly processed information. His father was not the man he had thought him to be, yet he had died a traitor. The Akatsuki member's words echoed through his mind.

"Dishonour in payment of honour, hatred in payment of love. And even then, Itachi died smiling."

Ryu's knuckles grew white and he reminded himself of the vow to root out the traitor and kill those who killed Sasuke. He knew that his sensei could not be blamed, he had no idea about his brother and had done what anyone in his position would have done. However, Ryu hated the ones responsible for Sasuke's death. Ryu could not betray his village by killing the Elders, but he could certainly destroy the Akatsuki, and here was a heaven sent opportunity. And he would take it.

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The large shark man entered and crouched beside him.

"You're going to have to come with me, kid. We need to let you join the Akatsuki "officially". It's just a little process that you have to go through."

"What process?"

Another voice spoke up. "Just a little something. It hurts though."

Ryu turned and saw a man with orange hair and piercings running the length of his nose.

Kisame grinned, showing off his pointy teeth. "That's Pein, our leader. He'll be performing the process."

Ryu could only watch as Pein crouched beside him. The Akatsuki leader pressed his palm against the younger shinobi's ANBU tattoo while his other hand formed the "Tora" seal. Ryu could feel a tingling sensation on his arm. After a moment, a piercing scream echoed through the room.

In the other room, Tobi laughed as he realized what was going on.

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Tobi entered Ryu's room and sat next to him. He could see that the ex ANBU captain was in a lot of pain. His face was as pale as could be and sweat was pouring from his face.

"What…what have you people done to me?" Ryu managed to rasp out between gasping breaths as he stared into the other's Sharingan.

"Pein…well, he turned your tattoo into a curse seal. Your powers have advanced and we can "keep in touch" with you."

"What…do you mean… keep in touch?"

"Don't worry about it. Rest now." Tobi got up and walked out.

Kisame was waiting behind the door and he chuckled as he saw his partner.

"You know Tobi, you can be very cruel sometimes."

The other shinobi answered curtly, "Only the strongest survive, Kisame. Our organisation is a perfect example of that." He started walking down the corridor. "I don't trust Itachi's kid. If he decides to betray us, that curse seal can be activated and cause him so much pain that he won't be able to move or speak. It's a perfect weapon."

Don't own Naruto, only Ryu, Hitori, Shikato, Fuji, Kitaro and Koteshi

The Rage of the Kyuubi

Naruto slammed his palms on Tsunade's desk.

"Oh come on Baa-chan! This "guy" is my student's brother AND the ANBU captain! Let me look for him!"

Tsunade stood up. "Naruto! That's what you said about Sasuke as well and my answer still hasn't changed!"

Naruto looked at the ground. "Yeah, and look where Sasuke is now. I owe that teme. Ryu is his student and Sakura's son. I don't know who his father is, but I know that Sasuke and Sakura would want me to personally look for him. I am the future hokage, you know."

Tsunade glanced at Shizune. She knew that Naruto would not be allowed as it would jeopardize Ryu's mission. Clasping her hands, she shook her head firmly.

"No Naruto, you will stay here and help Konoha. However, if Ryu happens to appear, you may confront him. Is that understood?"

The jinchurikii swallowed and nodded.

"Understood, Hokage sama."

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The five Akatsuki members gathered around a circle table as they examined a map of Konohagakure.

"I have received word that the Hokage will be away from Konoha in three days' time. She will be attending a meeting with the Kazekage in Suna." Pein stated in a monotone.

Looking up, he continued, "This will be the time for us to strike. We will go after the Kyuubi. However, I need Ryu and Kisame to distract the Konoha shinobi. We will leave today."

The two mentioned ninjas nodded. Ryu's stomach clenched as he thought about Naruto. The hyperactive blond was his sensei's best friend and he didn't want to attack his village as well.

Dismissing the thought for the moment, he asked, "How do you know these stuff?"

The Akatsuki leader stared at the newest member. His Rinnegan seemed to see right through Ryu's soul. After what seemed like ages, he answered slowly, "The Akatsuki has a contact in Konoha. He defected from Konoha seven months ago and has been supplying us with information all along."

Ryu kept quiet. He did not want the Akatsuki to suspect him and instead he nodded and turned to leave the room.

He stopped as Pein spoke again. "You will meet him at the training grounds when Kisame distracts the Konoha shinobi. He will report to you and you will report to me."

Ryu's face darkened. He grunted Sasuke's infamous monosyllabic word and went his way.

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The storm clouds were gathering and the sky was darkening gradually. The wind was picking up and rain started to fall from the sky.

Ryu looked up at the sky, allowing the rain to mask his tears. With the Hokage gone, he could not warn Konoha as Tsunade was the only one to know of his mission. He sighed as the wind swept his hair backwards. His black and red Akatsuki robe fluttered wildly in the downpour as he stood on the tree branch where the ninjas were resting. They were now just at the border of the Leaf Village.

Pein spoke up, "Let us start now. Kisame, go."

Kisame smirked as he disappeared through the trees. Pein carried on, "Tobi and I will go after the nine tails. Konan will be wrecking havoc somewhere else and Ryu, meet up with our contact."

The three shinobi went their ways, leaving Ryu standing on the branch. The Konoha shinobi growled slightly as he made his way to the training grounds. He was finally going to catch that traitor and boy, would he make him pay.

An explosion in the village centre rocked the whole village. Ryu could hear screaming and fighting as he hurried on. Panting slightly, he stopped at training grounds 7. He shivered slightly as he remembered Sasuke's death.

A figure interrupted his thoughts as it emerged from the shadows.

"It's been a while, Ryu."

Ryu stiffened as he recognized the voice.

"No way, it can't be…"  
The figure chuckled as he stepped into the light.

"Oh believe it." He said as his eyes bled red. "Aniki."

Don't own Naruto, only own Kitaro, Koteshi, Hitori, Ryu, Fuji and Shikato

Traitor of Konoha

"No! That's impossible!"

Hitori stepped out of the shadows. He chuckled, "What's wrong? Why is it so hard to believe that I am Akatsuki's spy?" He moved towards his older brother. "Anyway, I've gathered loads of information that I need you to report back to the leader."

Ryu did not answer. His head was lowered and shadows were thrown on his face, covering his eyes. His fists were clenched and his body was shaking.

Swallowing, he asked in a low voice, "Why are you working for Akatsuki?"

Hitori looked taken aback. He tensed before speaking. "What's up with you? You seem…tense."

Ryu's head snapped upwards and Hitori could see the uncontrollable fury in his eyes. Hitori closed his eyes and folded his arms as he leaned against the fence.

"I did it…because I hate Konoha. Remember when we learnt about Dad? Madara came for me soon after that and I joined them." He crouched down. "I hated what Konoha did to Dad. It was them who killed him. He died a traitor while that bastard Sasuke killed Dad and came back a hero." Hitori slammed his fist onto the ground. "I…hated…everyone. I swore to myself that I would avenge Dad." He grinned and continued, "And I did. Konoha is falling as we speak. Aren't you proud of me? After all, you're an Akatsuki too."

"Yeah, but I joined for a different reason." Ryu snarled.

Hitori smiled and walked towards the Uchiha heir. Placing a hand on the other's shoulder, he asked, "And that would be?"

Ryu grinned, "To kill you."

Hitori's eyes widened before Ryu whipped out Sasuke's katana and plunged it into his right shoulder. 80 miles to their right, an explosion rocked the land.

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"PEIN!!"

An inhuman scream echoed as a red aura of chakra surrounded the Jinchurikii. His pupils were now slits and his teeth were much sharper, giving him a feral look.

"Where is Ryu Tazumi?!" Naruto hissed at the Akatsuki leader.

The ginger head replied calmly, "Don't worry about him, he's well. You should focus on me though."

Naruto tilted his head to one side just in time to avoid Tobi's strike. He flipped backwards as he skidded across the floor.

"Teme! Where is he?!" He prowled forward. "Get out of my way! That traitor's mine!"

Tobi chuckled. "You don't need to worry about that kid. He's ours." His cheerful attitude drained away as a tail emerged from the enraged Shinobi.

Pein looked on as four tails emerged and Naruto slowly turned into the demon fox.

"Here is our prize."

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Hitori gasped in shock and pain as he registered what was going on.

"What…what are you doing? Is this Akatsuki's plan? What?"

Ryu channelled his chakra into the blade. Hitori's shoulder started going numb as paralysis started to set in.

The younger Uchiha pulled back and bounded backwards, clutching his shoulder.

The other straightened up.

"No. This is for killing my sensei and for betraying Konoha." Ryu's eyes turned from black to crimson. "I really should bring you in for questioning," he paused. "However, I think I'll kill you instead."

Hitori's mouth slowly turned upwards. "You really think I'm that much of a weakling, Ryu? You're not the only one who's improved, you know." His eyes turned crimson as well. "Neither are you the only one who has the Sharingan."

Performing the necessary hand seals, he slammed his palms onto the ground. "Doton!" Rock pillars shot up and curled themselves around Ryu's legs, tripping him up in the process. As Ryu tried to scramble to his feet, he looked up in time just to see Hitori's rock covered fist smash into his face. Blood spurted from his mouth and nose as the ANBU captain smashed into a rock. The rock wrapped itself around Ryu, effectively trapping him. The Uchiha tried to free himself by channelling chakra through his body to perform the Full Body Chidori but his efforts were futile.

Hitori laughed. "With my defeat last time, I learned some new techniques. Your lightning techniques won't work any more." Walking forward, he pulled out his kunai. His eyes gleamed under the moonlight. "I will bring Konoha to destruction." His smile stretched even wider. "And I won't let you ruin my plans."

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Tobi stared at Pein's remaining body.

"You really should be careful, you know. If you die Pein, Akatsuki will be no more."

Pein stared coolly at Madara. "Shut up. I know what I'm doing."

Tobi grimaced as he watched Pein continue his assault on the four tailed Kyuubi.

"He's going to die, that fool."

He joined the battle, hoping to save Pein's life and capture the Kyuubi in the process. He just hoped the others were doing fine.

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Koteshi shot out of the ground and his fist connected with Kisame's chin, sending him flying upwards. Leaping upwards, he drove his elbow into the Akatsuki's gut, causing him to plummet to the ground, forming a giant crater.

As the Akatsuki was recovering from the impact, the young Sarutobi took out his father's chakra knives. Channelling his wind chakra into them, he shot forward. The last thing Kisame knew was that a knife was sticking through his neck. Koteshi had stabbed him through the throat with his chakra knives, severing all the arteries as the chakra ran into his system and destroyed him from within.

"That's for my father, Akatsuki scum," spat out Koteshi as he drove the knife deeper. Blood gushed out of Kisame's throat and covered Koteshi's hands, staining his knives and clothes. With a cry, the young Sarutobi lobbed off the shark man's head.

Kisame's body remained standing for five seconds before collapsing into a heap on the ground. Staring at the body, Koteshi felt no joy but felt as if a great burden was removed from his heart. Panting heavily, he looked up at the starry sky and whispered, "I have avenged you, Father," before pitching forward, allowing darkness to consume him.

Don't own Naruto, only Ryu, Hitori, Kitaro, Koteshi, Fuji and Shikato.

Broken family

The kunai sliced across the metal plates on his wrist bands, creating a line across the Konoha leaf symbol.

Ryu stumbled backwards from the impact. He sheathed his katana shakily. Breaking out of the rock's hold had nearly depleted all of his chakra and yet Hitori was running on full steam.

Hitori growled in annoyance. Biting his thumb, he smeared blood across the ground before pressing his palms against the soft dirt. Ryu looked on wearily as rocks emerged from the ground and covered his brother from head to toe. Before he could react, he felt a huge blow to his stomach. Coughing up blood, he fell to the ground. He gave a cry of pain as Hitori's foot slammed onto his back.

Hitori laughed. "These rocks are infused with chakra. I'll make sure that I break you apart, aniki."

Ryu pushed himself off the ground before grinding out, "You're no brother of mine."

Next thing he knew, he was flying through the air.

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Naruto's eyes gradually reverted back to normal as he stared at Pein's dead body. Tobi had fled earlier and Naruto now needed to find Ryu.

He turned towards the training grounds. "He should be there, that was where Sasuke died after all." He pushed all his chakra onto the soles of his sandals and pushed off.

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Ryu picked himself up gingerly. He had no other choice, he had to do it again. Extending his left arm with his palm cupped upwards, he gathered all his remaining chakra into his palm. With his right hand, he started to spin it until the chakra was now something like a lightning blue Rasengan.

Hitori snarled as he saw what his older brother was doing.

"That again? Is that the only thing you know how to do?" he sneered. Taking out his kunai, he charged across the grounds.

Ryu started to channel his element chakra into the ball. Electricity shot out of the ball, crackling and chirping like a thousand birds. Ryu kept an eye on his brother as he started to concentrated the chakra at the lightning streaks shooting out of the ball. Jumping backwards to avoid an attack from Hitori, he started to spin the whole thing.

Jumping upwards, he threw the Chidori Rasengan Demon Shuriken at Hitori.

"What? He can throw it?" Hitori rolled over, narrowly missing the attack. Scrambling to his feet, he charged towards Ryu, just to see that Ryu was now holding a Chidori Rasengan. Hitori's eyes widened as his brother drove the attack right through his chest. Dropping onto his knees, he stared up at his older brother. "How…?"

"The shuriken was just a decoy."

Hitori turned slowly to see Ryu behind him. Turning back, he saw that the Ryu who had killed him had disappeared into a puff of smoke. "Kage bunshin," he breathed.

Ryu nodded. "I transformed into a shuriken as a decoy, and then allowed my shadow clone to finish you off."

Hitori managed a small smile. "You were always the better fighter, brother."

Ryu's vision was blurred by tears. Choking back a sob, he said, "I'm sorry, but you're no brother of mine." With that, he turned and walked away as Hitori fell to the ground dead.

He hadn't managed two steps before he felt a sharp jab to the base of his neck and he dropped to the ground unconscious.

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Naruto shuffled into the Hokage Tower. As Tsunade was in Suna, he was acting as the temporary Hokage. Hitori was dead but he had managed to kill Pein while Shikato and Fuji had managed to take down Konan. Even Koteshi had defeated Kisame while Naruto managed to capture Ryu.

Naruto shook his head sadly. Who would have thought that the Uchiha clan would have such a tragic story?

He strode up to Ibiki.

"Make sure you question Ryu carefully. Find out what that bastard knows by all means possible. That traitor killed my student and joined the Akatsuki. I'll never forgive him."

Ibiki nodded solemnly. "With pleasure."

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The shinobi slowly came round. Blinking wearily, he waited for his eye sight to adjust to the dark. Looking around, he could see that he was in the ANBU interrogation room. He let out a gasp of pain as he felt that his ribs were broken. His hands were shackled by chakra rings around the wrists and there were chakra rings around his neck and feet. He couldn't move at all.

His head snapped around as he heard the click of the door. A scarred man with a long black coat walked in.

"Ibiki."

The man did not acknowledge him. Instead, he sat down and glared at him.

"Tell me what you know."

Ryu blinked in confusion. What the heck? Did Ibiki really think that he, the ANBU captain was that easy to interrogate?

He stifled his laughter. "You wish."

Ibiki motioned for the ANBU members to enter.

"Well then, let's do this the hard way. Just the way I like it."

Don't own Naruto, only Ryu, Shikato, Koteshi, Kitaro and Fuji.

WARNING: This may contain minor torture scenes

This is my first attempt at a romance scene, so no flames! J

Curse seals and tattoos

A resounding knock sounded as a certain blonde stood outside of the house. After a moment, the door opened to reveal a pink haired kunoichi. Her face lit up as she recognized the visitor.

"Naruto! What are you doing here?" Sakura exclaimed. Seeing his grim expression, she asked, "Is something wrong?"

The jonin nodded slowly. His eyes were filled with pain and sorrow. Taking a few breaths to steady himself, he said in a low voice, "I'm sorry Sakura. Hitori was killed in action when Akatsuki invaded Konoha." He placed a comforting hand on his teammate's shoulder. His voice faltered for a second before he managed to compose himself. "And the killer is now being questioned."

Wrapping the female jonin in his arms, he held her close to his chest as she allowed all the pain and bitterness she had experienced over the years out. Her body shook as she wept her heart out. It was a heart breaking sight. Naruto was at a loss. She had suffered so much. Naruto didn't know what had happened to Sakura's husband, whoever he may be, but he did know that she loved him dearly and had nearly killed herself when she learnt of his death. Then, she had to cope with Sasuke's death and Ryu's defection. Now, Hitori's death was most probably going to break her. Naruto decided not to tell her about Hitori's killer.

After what seemed like hours, Sakura's tears finally subsided. She pushed herself away from Naruto's chest slightly and looked into his eyes. Hiccupping slightly, she managed to ask, "Who…is the killer?"

The colour from Naruto's face drained away as dread settled in. He swallowed nervously. Licking his lips, he said, "Just…some shinobi."

Sakura frowned slightly. She could sense that Naruto was withholding some information.

"Naruto, tell me."

Naruto cupped her chin and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears on her face. Whispering softly, he said, "Don't think about it Sakura. Let me do the worrying."

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Ibiki stepped away from the shadows of the cell and the kunai glinted menacingly in the light. He grinned madly as he snarled, "This is how traitors are treated when they are caught."

Slicing open Ryu's shirt, he did the same with his trousers. He removed his wristbands, bandages and sandals, leaving the ANBU captain only in his boxers. Ryu looked calmly at his torturer. Ibiki frowned slightly, "Don't think that just because you were the captain, therefore you can take this. Because you'll be screaming very soon enough."

Channelling chakra through his fist, he punched Ryu in the gut, causing him to double up with pain. He did the same thing to Ryu, however this time to the groin. Ryu grunted as it took the full impact. Ibiki signalled to two men in the shadows. Ryu groaned inwardly as he saw that they were none other than Neji Hyuuga and Kiba Inuzuka. The two of them were furious that he had upset Naruto, well more like hurt their friend, and had decided to teach him a lesson. The next two hours were the worst beating that Ryu had ever endured in his life.

As the two ANBU exited the cell, Ibiki frowned at the defiant captain. With burn marks, scratches, bruises, blood and vomit all over him, the captain still refused to speak. Ibiki strode forward slowly. Taking out his kunai, he teased Ryu's skin, or what's left of it, on his stomach. Tracing a bloody line across his abdomen, he finally allowed a small smile to grace his scarred face as the captain finally broke and screamed. Tracing the same line again, he pressed harder this time, breaking the skin completely. He smiled as the reddish liquid came pouring out, splattering all over the floor. Ryu bit back his scream as his vision blurred. His head lolled forward limply as he threw up blood. Ibiki grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall behind him. He flashed the bloody kunai in front of the traitor. Grinning, he said, "Maybe I should continue down there." He knelt down, and pressed the kunai against Ryu's member lightly. The Uchiha heir's face turned even paler as he fought to stay conscious with all the blood loss. Sweat was pouring from his face and it mingled with all the fresh and dry blood on his face. He strained against the chakra restraints and tensed as Ibiki pressed harder.

"I…"

Ibiki looked up.

"Ready to talk yet?"

Gasping for breath, Ryu managed to choke out. "I want to talk to the Hokage."

Ibiki threw back his head and laughed.

"The Hokage is at Suna and won't be back till next week. At that time, you'll be dead already."

Ryu closed his eyes in despair. This is not happening, he thought.  
Ibiki glanced at the clock. "I'll be back in a minute to continue, traitor. Get ready."

He turned to leave but stopped at the sound of his prisoner's voice.

"If you think I'm that easy to break, then you're mistaken. They didn't make me the ANBU captain for nothing."

Ibiki did not turn around. "Yeah well, Dragon. No one's ever stayed sane when I'm doing the asking."

Ryu blinked as he registered what Ibiki had just called him. Ibiki had called him by his ANBU codename.  
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The man slammed his fist against the wall. He was shaking angrily.

"What do you mean he was captured!?"

His blue haired companion shrugged.

Tobi growled. "Now, Akatsuki has only two members thanks to the fact that Pein had to go and get himself killed!"

Konan stared at him. "Don't worry, he'll manage to get out."

Tobi thumped his head against the wall. "Let's hope so."

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Fear and guilt seized him as he stared at his crush. He averted his gaze and tried to ease himself into a more comfortable position.

The woman moved forward and looked at him with tearful eyes. Ryu felt his heart break as he saw all the pain and hurt that he had caused her.

"Fuji…"

Ryu swallowed the lump in his throat as he thought of how he had never confessed his love for her. Now, he was going to die without fulfilling that action and die like his father. Die for his country, his duty and his honour.

Fuji Wakumi stepped closer to him as she traced her gentle hands over his bare chest. She unconsciously rubbed against his member as she looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Please Ryu, tell them what's going on."  
The Uchiha heir felt his boxers become tighter as his member hardened. Suppressing a moan, he shook his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry but I can't." He whispered.

Fuji leaned forward and grinded against him. This time, Ryu moaned as his back arched back slightly. Sensing his pleasure, Fuji continued a little harder. Ryu closed his eyes as he breathed heavier. He opened his eyes again when he felt two hands around his face. Onyx orbs met turquoise green ones and the former felt as if he was drowning in the latter's eyes as she stared deep into his soul.

The kunoichi moved even closer as their lips touched. Ryu hesitated slightly as he sensed something wrong. Why were they making out in the interrogation and torture cell? Pulling back slightly, he tried to clear his head. He never managed to though as Fuji slipped her tongue into his mouth when she felt that he was distracted. The Dragon was once again pulled back into his dreams as he responded. Fuji grinded against him as they made out while Ryu groaned. His member was hardening and he just wanted to take her right now.

Both surfaced as they pulled away, gasping for air. Fuji tried again to get Ryu to talk.

Ryu looked regretfully at her. "Fuji, I can't. We're shinobi, you know how we are."

"And nothing I say can change your mind?"

The other could only nod numbly. Next thing he knew, a chakra infused fist connected with his groin again.

Having been caught off guard, Ryu yelled in pain.

Fuji's eyes were now hard and cold. If looks could kill, that would be the one. She spat at the Uchiha and repeated her previous action for good measure.

Panting slightly, she said, "Damn you Tazumi. Damn you."

She turned around and headed for the door. With her hand on the door knob, she looked back and snarled, "And just for your information, I never liked you. That was all just an act to get you to talk. I only love one person and that's Hitori. I hate you! You killed him! We were going to get married next month!" Tears welled up in her eyes and she glared at the Uchiha.

Whipping around, she stormed out. Ibiki entered the room and looked disgustedly at his prisoner.

"Let's continue, shall we?"

Ryu shook his head. "No, let me tell you a secret."

Ibiki's eyes sparkled as he turned his attention to Ryu. Seeing his prisoner shifting, he snickered. "Don't bother struggling. Your chakra has all been absorbed by those chakra rings."

"Well then, maybe you should pay more attention to your prisoner's techniques then."

Ibiki's eyes widened as red flames travelled from the captain's ANBU tattoo to the left side of his face and along his left arm.

Ryu chuckled as the red flames settled down, forming black flames. "As I've said before, they didn't make me ANBU captain for nothing."

That was the last thing Ibiki remembered before the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Department Headquarters exploded.


	4. Chapter 4

Don't own Naruto, only Ryu, Hitori, Fuji, Koteshi, Kitaro and Shikato

Operation Dragon: Phase 2

The furious blonde clenched his fists in anger. He was trembling uncontrollably as his eyes took in the scene in front of him.

A smouldering pile of rubble was what was left of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Department. Smoke was pouring out as flames consumed the remains of the building.

Performing the necessary hand seals, he clapped his hands together into the tiger seal.

"Suiton Ryu no jutsu!"

A water dragon rose from the ground and flew towards the fire. With a roar, it opened its mouth and consumed the area.

A hand shot out of the pile of rubble and clawed at the earth. Naruto bounded towards the survivor and grasped his hand. Pulling him upwards, a smile broke out as Naruto recognized the man as Ibiki. Surprisingly, Ibiki was unharmed. Grunting a thanks to the jinchurikii, he dusted himself off.

"What happened here?" A curt voice interrupted.

Ibiki's eyes narrowed as he growled. "It was Ryu."

Naruto's head snapped in Ibiki's direction. "What? How could he have done so much damage? Did you not suppress his chakra?" he demanded.

A vein throbbed in Ibiki's forehead as he answered through gritted teeth. "I did. However, we did not know that his ANBU tattoo has become a curse seal similar to Orochimaru's curse seals."

Naruto swore mentally as he took a deep breath. "This is bad."

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A figure landed softly onto the balcony. Slowly standing up from his crouching position, the ninja opened the balcony door and walked in. With well practiced stealth, the shinobi padded down the corridor on his left. Easing the door open, he slipped in.

A hand stopped the intruder's advance and pushed him back out. As the intruder stumbled backwards, he could feel a kunai pressed against his throat. After a few seconds, the intruder was set free as the attacker finally recognized him.

"Naruto! What's up?"  
Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto laughed nervously as he stared at Anko.

"Well, I was just looking for Kakashi."

Anko grinned mischievously as she said teasingly, "Aw…and I thought that you were coming to visit me."

Before Naruto could answer, a voice interrupted him.

"Well, well, if it isn't Konoha's Lightning Shinobi."

Naruto grinned as he turned to face Kitaro. Raising a hand in greeting, Kitaro uttered his famous monosyllable. "Yo."

Striding forward with his hands in his pockets, Kakashi's son drawled, "Dad isn't here. He's most probably at the Stone Monument. What do you want him for?"

The blonde smirked. "Can't I visit my sensei once in a while? See you guys later!" he said as he teleported away in a puff of smoke.

Kitaro stared at Anko as she looked worriedly at the silver haired man.

"What?"

Anko gazed out of the window as she sighed. "I'm worried. Naruto never looks for Kakashi unless something serious has happened. It must be really bad if he came all this way to find him."

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The silver haired jonin was crouching in front of the Stone Monument as he paid his respects to his best friend, Obito Uchiha. Kakashi looked wearily at the newcomer as he placed some flowers in front of the monument.

Kneeling down, the newcomer traced a certain name on the monument as he stared silently at it.

Kakashi stuffed his hands into his pockets as he waited for Naruto to pay his respects to his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha.

The blonde stood up and turned to look at Kakashi.

"Come with me. I've got something I need to tell you. Let's talk it over lunch, okay?"

The scarred jonin nodded.

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The two Konoha shinobi entered Ichiraku's and sat at the end of the counter in the corner and ordered their lunch.

Naruto leaned forward. "I take it that you heard about the Tazumi incident, right?"

Kakashi nodded again.

"What about the ANBU incident?"

Another nod.

Naruto frowned. "What do you make of the curse seal?"

The other jonin folded his arms. "It must have been bestowed upon Ryu by someone in the Akatsuki, considering Orochimaru is dead and that Ryu is associated with Akatsuki."

The two stopped talking briefly as their ramen were placed in front of them. Cracking open their chopsticks, the dug in.

As the Copy Cat Ninja slurped his noodles and drank the miso soup, the other glanced at his sensei worriedly.

"Another thing I wanted to talk about is… Sakura."

Kakashi cocked his eyebrows as he looked questioningly at his former student.

Naruto put down his chopsticks as he continued. "I don't know what to do. She's resigned from work and doesn't leave the house any more. She's lost so many precious people, it's amazing how she managed not to break for so long."

Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed as he thought about the situation.

Rubbing his chin, he muttered, "We need to talk with the Hokage. She'll know what to do."

Naruto groaned as he said, "Yeah, but it won't be much of a help for Sakura. How are we supposed to tell her that her son killed his brother and defected from the village?"

Kakashi smiled sadly. "I just wish Sasuke was here. He would be able to help."

Naruto drained down his tea. Setting his cup on the table, his eyes hardened as he said, "There's no use looking at the past, we should instead focus on the future."

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Don't own Naruto, blah blah blah.

Betrayal

He brushed away the hot red liquid trickling slowly down the side of his face. Slowly, he moved his fingers upwards until they reached the source. Grimacing, he found that it was his eyes.

A loud slam jolted him from his thoughts as a masked man walked in.

Quickly wiping the blood with his hands, he looked up briefly in acknowledgment before turning to face the wall. The other man narrowed his eyes slightly.

In a raspy voice filled with exhaustion, he asked, "What is it, Madara?"

The elder Shinobi padded forward. Clasping a hand on Ryu's shoulder, he spoke slowly.

"We're going back to Konoha."

Ryu turned around, eyes widened with shock. "What?"

Chuckling, Madara Uchiha eased himself against the wall. "You heard me, we're going back to Konoha. And this time, we finish the job."

Ryu stood up abruptly.

"Are you mad? There is no more Akatsuki already. There's only you and me! You think we can take down a village? Just the two of us? Maybe you can, but I can't! I can't even beat the Jinchuuriki!"

A flash of red emitted behind the orange mask. "We are going."

Moving towards the door, he said, "We leave tonight."

Ryu could only watch as his "leader" left the room. Burying his head into his hands, he thought bitterly, "Shit, Tsunade won't be back till the day after tomorrow."

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A swirl of leaves under the moonlight indicated the arrival of two Shinobi in Training Ground 3.

Madara grinned behind his mask as he surveyed his partner. Everything was going according to plan.

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Naruto was at Ichiraku's slurping down ramen beside Kakashi and Sakura until he turned to the others in alarm.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, I can sense a very powerful chakra."

Throwing down some money to cover the meal, the three rushed out.

However, Kakashi stopped Sakura.

"Sakura, it's best if you don't go," he said seriously.

She started to protest but Kakashi silenced her. Smiling gently, he said, "Trust us, won't you."

Receiving a nod, he nodded in satisfaction before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

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"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Ryu asked.

A sinister rumble sounded from the bottom of Madara's throat.

Ryu looked at him confused.

"What's so funny?"

A raucous laugh erupted from the Uchiha's throat, ripping the silence of the training grounds apart.

Eyes bleeding red, Madara stared at Ryu.

"Problem?" Stepping forward, he gripped the other shinobi's throat and started to tighten his hold. "Yes, you are the problem."

Choking, Ryu struggled to free himself. "What are you doing? Get off me!"

Madara laughed as he performed some hand seals. "You think that I didn't know? You're a Konoha spy, Ryu. One of the best too. I didn't know initially of course, but I started to suspect halfway through. My suspicions were confirmed tonight."

Pushing his chakra onto the palm of his hand, he slammed it onto Ryu's chest.

"Your efforts to escape are futile, you know? After all, I am Madara Uchiha."

Ryu could feel his chakra being sucked from him. He was finding himself getting weaker by the second and was finding it difficult to breath.

Madara continued. "You killed Hitori and gained the Mangenkyou in the process. I noticed the blood on your face earlier." Extracting his palm, he dropped Ryu onto the ground.

The younger Uchiha threw up and fell to his knees. Looking up, he growled, "Kill me then."

Madara knelt down and tilted Ryu's chin so that they were staring eye to eye.

"No, that's fine. The Jinchuuriki and some others are coming as we speak. They can be the ones to finish you off."

Ryu retched again, sweat covering his face. Weakly, he said, "So, it was a trap. There is no plan to invade Konoha."

Madara laughed again before fading away.

Picking himself of the floor, the ANBU captain stood up shakily. Unclipping his Akatsuki cloak, he dropped it.

Feeling a powerful chakra, he sighed. "Naruto."

Turning slowly, he saw that Naruto was engulfed in a red chakra. Confusion marred his features.

Naruto gave a feral snarl. "You bastard! You broke Sakura's heart! She's lost everyone, her two sons and husband! I'll kill you!"

The Uchiha used the last of his chakra to activate his bloodline limit. "Tsukuyomi," he whispered as the blood spilled from his eyes.

Naruto did not seem affected though as he surged forward. His clawed hands slashed across Ryu's front as the ANBU was thrown backwards.

Falling down, Ryu did not get up. He had no chakra to spare.

Grabbing Ryu by the throat, Naruto hoisted him up and slammed him against a tree.

"You're an Uchiha," he hissed.

Ryu closed his eyes.

Naruto roared in anger. "You're an Uchiha!"  
Ryu managed a weak smile.

Naruto's anger seemed to lessen as the red aura disappeared. Red slitted eyes turned back to baby blue ones and he loosened his hold.

Whispering, he said, "Forgive me, Sasuke."

Spinning around 360 degrees, he slammed a Odama Rasengan into Ryu's chest.

Blood spurted everywhere as Naruto stared at the gaping hole in the ANBU's chest.

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End file.
